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Showing posts from November, 2017

Sermon - Trinity XIII, 2026 - 2 Chronicles 28:8-15

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The Good Samaritan, Joseph Highmore, 1744   God’s People are Those Who Have Faith in Him We typically think my people are those who are like me externally History of the two kingdoms The Faithful Remnant of Samaria was more faithful than Judah We are God’s people through faith The lawyer asked Jesus: “ Who is my neighbor? ” That’s another way of asking: “Who are my people?” We ask this question because like prefers like and we want to love those people who are like us more than we love those who are not like us. This is a generally true principle in many facets of life. We do this in mostly playful ways with sports, where we greatly prefer our team which we identify with and we do not like the rival teams. This happens more seriously between countries, sometimes even to the point of war. This happens with some seriousness between political parties, sometimes leading to political assassinations. This happens in families when one family member defends another even through criminal be...

Sermon: Advent I - 2017

“ And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest! ” “ Behold, your King is coming to you. ” Dear brothers and sisters in Christ: we are just three short weeks away from Christmas beginning. Stores may have had their Christmas items out since before halloween, but now it’s December, Christmas is definitely coming. Thus with Christmas on the mind of our nation, what’s personally on your mind? Do visions of sugar-plums dance in your head? Or like many, is your mind preoccupied with matters you’d rather it not be? Instead of excitement, you feel only anxiety over the long to-do list. Instead of joy, you feel only loneliness. Instead of jubilation, you feel only sorrow about those who you can’t spend Christmas with. The only thing on your mind is that long illness, the winter blues, old memories you wish could be made new again. My dear friends, today marks ...